Storytelling is a most ancient form of honoring the dead. You can continue to create opportunities for sharing and storytelling, at a reception following the funeral and at family gatherings and memorial services in the years to come. Keep a journal or record your memories to share with family and friends. They will no doubt make corrections and additions to your recollections, which will cause lots of lively discussion. Encourage others to tell their stories. A way to honor deceased...

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “...

Death affects us all at some point in our lives. Talking about it can be difficult in present day society. The people in Scotland remember their dead loved ones from November 1 through November 7 as part of "To Absent Friends" - a people's festival of storytelling and remembrance. Unlike most festivals, events that take place as part of "To Absent Friends" are not bound by a particular time or venue. "To Absent Friends" will happen across Scotland - in public spaces, over social media,...

This holiday sounds morbid and somewhat tasteless at first, but before you start phoning the police to report an impending murder, let's specify: on this holiday, you're planning your own great funeral--plotting your way out of life in style. Make your loved ones aware if you want a solemn memorial, with flowers and candles and religious music, or that you'd prefer a wild drunken party full of personalized party favors for everyone to remember you by. Stephanie West Allen say starting some...

All are invited to a workshop at Holy Cross Cemetery on Saturday, September 27th, 9:30am - noon in All Saints Chapel. Sr. Toni Lynn Gallagher, RSM will talk about how to cope with the changes in our lives following a loss.

Each year on the second Sunday of September, people join together in celebrating National Pet Memorial Day. On this day, pet owners honor their pets, both past and present and think about and share with others the important role that their beloved pets have played, and do play, in their lives.